


Love Is Just A Bloodsport

by waywardrose



Series: Iron Moon [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Anal Sex, Blood, Blood Drinking, Cannoli Kylux, Canon Universe, Cutting, Don't copy to another site, Dubious Consent, Force Weirdness, Hand Jobs, Jedi Mind Tricks (Star Wars), M/M, Murder, Oral Sex, The First Order Wins (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 07:29:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21240440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waywardrose/pseuds/waywardrose
Summary: For Huxloween 2019, Day 30: Vampires.He could smell the blood on Hux's breath. It was life and death, right there on Hux's beautiful lips. He inched nearer, teasing Hux and himself. Hux's eyelids lowered, and he could feel the invisible caress of his gaze.





	Love Is Just A Bloodsport

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Helpmeme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Helpmeme/gifts).

> Title from ["Bloodsport" by Sneaker Pimps](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YHiYaBqgZc).  
Series title from ["Iron Moon" by Chelsea Wolfe](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvbJY2CjrUI).

"You are to bring General Hux before me," Snoke said from his throne in the middle of the receiving room.

Ren kept his gaze lowered and tried to swallow around his suddenly too-big tongue. The room shrank around him. The dry air was stifling. The quiet of the barren city beyond the walls of the citadel was deafening. He tried to focus on the task at hand and not the why of it.

Snoke sensed his growing alarm anyway. "There are lessons to learn from this situation, my apprentice."

"Whose lessons?"

"General Hux's and yours." Snoke went on without prompting, "Attachment, distraction, self-importance, ambition, the disregard of orders. All these things undermine that which I have nurtured over the years."

"How am I to learn this lesson?"

"By coming to the realization that you— _ both of you _ —are not above your Supreme Leader and master."

"Shouldn't that be a lesson for the whole First Order?"

Snoke hummed in contemplation. "Make an example of the general? That could be useful."

That wasn't what he'd meant, but he could work with it. He could poke holes in Snoke's logic. He had to. Hux's life was on the line, and the thought of him dying now was unthinkable.

He finally looked up at his master. "Even when he led the attack that ended the Resistance?"

"It is because of that fact. The war was just beginning."

He didn't understand. Starkiller had been a decisive blow. It had been a quick strike. The war was supposed to continue on like that. Even with Starkiller gone, the First Order had a fleet that could destroy the Resistance. Or any uprising.

"How can the First Order rule when chaos reigns?" Snoke asked. He answered his own question a breath later: "The Resistance was a rallying point. It was giving hope to the galaxy. It was supposed to pull it all together." He made a fist, demonstrating the galaxy uniting. "Everyone was to pin their hopes on those pathetic terrorists. And once they did that—" He dropped his fist to the arm of his throne. "The Resistance was supposed to be crushed once and for all. With their defeat, the last bastion of hope would be destroyed. And then, we would  _ rise." _

He nodded. "Bringing order out of chaos."

"Yes."

"But General Hux took out the Resistance before that could happen."

"Arrogance of the highest order," Snoke agreed.

He knew that wasn't true. Hux had been scrambling to secure his place after the fall of Starkiller. Snoke had been silent during the last battle, going so far as to deny Hux's comm requests. Snoke had let Hux tie his own noose.

Snoke rose from his seat to tower over him. "We shall deal with General Hux. I will demonstrate what is done with rabid curs in the First Order."

"I can handle him, Master. Let me do it front of everyone on the  _ Finalizer." _

He then felt Snoke shuffling through his thoughts. The weight of Snoke's presence in his mind brought him to his knees. He grunted as they smacked the stone floor. He thought of running his saber through Hux's chest like he had with Han Solo. He ignored how it would pain him. No, he corrected, he wouldn't do it like Solo. He would get Hux on his knees, hold him by the nape of the neck, and press the emitter right over his heart.

It would be fast. And it wouldn't break him.

Despite no one ever wanting him the way Armitage Hux did. In a greedy way that made his dick hard and his senses sharpen. Not because he'd never been fucked the way Hux had taken him. In a ravenous way that made heat bloom in his chest.

It wouldn't break him because he didn't  _ care. _

He shoved the thought forward, offering it up to Snoke. It was only sex. He wasn't attached. He hadn't planned a future. He'd never focused on a time when he would realize his grandfather's legacy with Hux at his side.

He didn't care. He didn't care.  _ He didn't care. _

He'd kill them all.

Snoke snarled and lifted him with the Force. He fought against his master's hold, pushing against the pressure keeping him immobile and floating. Snoke held out his hand to disarm him. The lightsaber whizzed away from him. He concentrated on the ignition trigger.

He refused to die like this.

His lightsaber powered on, the blade igniting first and the crossguard blazing right after. It was too close for Snoke to avoid it, and the plasma blade hit him in the gut. Snoke's red-lit face showed shock. He watched as Snoke's metallic robes were scorched. He could smell the charred meat of Snoke's twisted body.

Ren was dropped to the floor. He stumbled and almost fell. He quickly righted himself, calling the lightsaber to him. Once in his hands, he held the lightsaber aloft as he stepped forward.

Snoke limped backwards, the side of his leg knocking into the arm of the throne. He held his burnt torso wound with one arm while he held the other out. As if Snoke could keep him away now.

Snoke tried to push him back. He shoved the energy aside. He would not be stopped. His destiny lay before him. Like a cornered, cowering beast, Snoke threw lightning at him. He caught it with his lightsaber and let it dissipate on its own.

He sprang into action. He rushed for Snoke, pulled his lightsaber back, and slashed across his neck in one smooth motion. It took a second for the body to collapse. The head toppled into the wedge of light coming from the doorway at the back of the room.

He studied the cauterized stump of Snoke's neck. It looked like a succulent roast. It smelled like one, too.

He knew he couldn't take this back, couldn't undo it, couldn't make everyone forget it. He turned off his lightsaber and tilted his head back to breathe.

Hux was going to be pissed.

-

He woke up alone in the dark. He patted the other side of the bed to confirm what he felt in the Force. Hux must be down in the brig, taking part in another "interrogation."

It had taken him days to identify all the questionable officers aboard the  _ Finalizer _ and the remainder of the fleet for Hux. A lot of them were hold-outs from the Empire. Most of them had worked with Commandant Brendol Hux and detested both Huxes because of it. Some didn't believe it coincidence that the Commandant had suffered a mysterious sudden-onset malady only to dissolve in a bacta tank hours later.

As a group, they looked to the younger Hux to fill his father's role as head of the stormtrooper program. And stay there. When he had gone beyond that, going higher in the ranks than the Commandant had ever predicted, they suspected him. They began questioning his integrity. They thought he hadn't earned his title. They questioned his sanity when he'd proposed a new type of Death Star. They now questioned his value because of Snoke's indifference.

What they failed to realize was that Brendol had only ever inspired loathing in his son. There had never been love or loyalty or even common ground between them. The only things Brendol had ever given his son were harsh words and a backhand across the cheek. Ren didn't think Brendol had ever wanted a child—legitimate or not. But the Empire had needed children. So, Brendol had offered his bastard for the imperial machine, not seeing any real value in him. Not even when young Armitage had displayed his capacity for a certain type of leadership.

Ren had picked up these bits and pieces over the years. He'd made a portrait of Hux, scrap by scrap.

Armitage Hux was unlike anyone he'd ever met. That wasn't to say he'd liked Hux at first, but Hux was different. Ren had been around disciplined people his whole life. The straight-laced, stiff-upper-lip types who knew how to follow orders. Underneath all that propriety was always a mad type of unprincipled savagery. There were always baser urges.

Hux was no different, and it had been easy to dismiss him. Hux appeared to be another bureaucratic, power-hungry commander. Hux found comfort in protocol. At the same time, Hux had no passion for it. It was an interesting dichotomy.

Even more interesting: Hux's base urges had shifted over the years. He'd gone from wanting to best his father in every way imaginable to hungering for blood. At first, Ren had written it off as a mere desire for the kill. Blood was evidence of violence. It seemed fitting for a commander in a military junta to thirst for war.

Then Starkiller happened. And Hux's baser urges had focused on him.

It had been at once thrilling and auspicious. A destiny he had only hoped for had unfurled before him. It was like Hux had seen the deepest, sickest parts of him and wanted more. He wanted to give it to Hux, too. He wanted to be Hux's only, a sole source to fill Hux's need.

He opened the blast shields lining one side of Hux's suite and retrieved the datapad from the desk. He logged in to check on Hux's status. As he thought, Hux had reported to the Internal Affairs section of the brig two hours ago.

There was a notice from Nutrient Provisions Systems stating the food supply was at twenty-percent. They had enough for another week. Hux had to finish cleaning house soon. And they still had to find a person to pin the planted-tracker plot to.

Instead of getting dressed immediately and reporting to the brig, he pulled up the file for Leia Organa. As he read over the summaries of her days and interrogations, he had to give his mother one thing: she was consistent. She wouldn't join the First Order. She never mentioned Rey or the other Resistance fighters. She wanted to speak with Kylo Ren.

He reached through the Force to feel her out. The second they connected, he knew she felt it. She was frustrated and angry and bored. And sad for the loss of Han Solo. The underlying current to that was fear. She was genuinely afraid, but not for herself. She'd never been afraid for herself.

She was afraid for  _ him. _ And Rey. And the traitor, FN-2187—Finn.

She didn't know Snoke was dead. She was under the impression Snoke controlled him, that he would do whatever his master asked. Little did she know he was his own master now, and Hux had stepped up to be de facto leader.  _ They _ were the First Order now. There was no need to fear his future because he had the reins.

There seemed no point in delaying the inevitable: he would confront his mother.

No one questioned him when he announced he'd speak with Leia Organa. They brought her to an interrogation cell and locked her in with him.

He studied her as she strode across the cell to a metal chair by the bulkhead. Her hair style had been simplified to a braided bun at the back of her head. The brig uniform she wore seemed somehow regal on her. Where he anticipated weariness, he saw only resilience. It was hardly a surprise, if he was honest. She was his mother, after all.

"Snoke's dead," she stated as she sat.

So, the connection had gone both ways. It had been a gamble to reach out, but she would've found out in the end.

"Yes."

"Who's in charge now?"

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Why do you care? You don't want to join us."

"I figured it would be you."

"Because I'm Snoke's apprentice?"

"And because of other  _ connections." _

There was a warning spark in her eyes—something he'd not seen in over a decade. He wanted to snarl at her veiled threat of exposure. No one outside of Snoke knew he'd been born to the last princess of Alderaan. And no one needed to know. Ben Solo had been destroyed years ago, anyway.

"Who says it isn't me?" he asked.

"As if the new Supreme Leader would deign a visit to the brig."

"Ah, but he just might when we have such an esteemed guest."

"General Hux didn't speak of you as if you were at the helm."

"General Hux isn't steering this organization any more than you are."

She looked at him for a moment, her disappointment clear. She said, "Oh, Ben."

He stomped forward, his hands clenched at his sides. "Don't you  _ dare _ speak that name."

"But that's—"

He raised his hand to focus the Force to keep her from speaking. He'd never before raised a hand against his mother. Deep down it felt wrong, but he couldn't let her finish that sentence.

He went to the room control panel and used his commander override to cease any recording. The panel beeped and the comms section went black. He turned back and released his hold.

Leia cleared her throat and stared at him with watery eyes. He went to the refreshment console, retrieved a glass of water, and brought it to her. He couldn't say he was sorry, but this was apology enough.

She took a few sips of water as he backed off.

"There are bigger prizes to be had than the First Order," he said.

"You want the galaxy," she finished his thought with a note of incredulity.

"Didn't you? Wasn't that the point of the New Republic? Tame the galaxy with democracy?"

"We were trying to help people."

"And failing horribly." He gestured around the cell to indicate where it had landed her.

Her face went blank. "Where's Rey?"

"Safe."

"Are you going to execute her, too?"

"If she won't comply, yes. The same as you."

"My son really is gone, then."

He almost scoffed. "He died a decade ago when his Jedi master turned on him."

"Luke wouldn't."

"Wouldn't he?" He leaned forward. "He came to my hut in the middle of the night with every intention of killing me."

"He loved you."

"Not enough to overcome his fear of my power—of what I would become."

"He'd never fear you. You're not making sense."

"See for yourself, then."

He opened himself up to her. He recalled waking up to the sound of lightsaber ignition. He'd opened his eyes to see his little hut illuminated with the green glow of his uncle's lightsaber. Luke's face had been a mask of dark determination and destruction. Luke had been all too ready to destroy him.

He'd defended himself while still on his sleeping mat, blocking his uncle's strike. From such a disadvantage, with such a powerful enemy as his uncle, he'd had no choice but to bring the hut down around them. One of the support beams had knocked Luke unconscious, and he alone had scrambled out of the wreckage with bruises and abrasions.

He had stood in the cool night in his sleeping clothes, dew soaking the hem of his pants, and realized Snoke had been right about Luke. No amount of familial duty had kept him safe. Snoke, too, had been right about most of the Jedi pupils. They were blind to the truth: The Jedi were corrupt and treacherous—wholly unworthy of guardianship of the known galaxy.

When he let the scene drain from his vision, he found his mother on her feet with a hand on the bulkhead to steady herself. Her eyes were haunted as she stared back at him. She looked as he had looked on that fateful night.

"You see now?" he asked. "The Jedi are a lie. They won't save the galaxy."

Leia shook her head.

"Only we can," he concluded.

"And you want me to stand by and let the First Order take it all."

"If you're part of the Order, wouldn't that mean you'd be fulfilling your life's work?" He tilted his head as he met her eyes. "You sacrificed everything...  _ Mother. _ Your homeworld is gone. Our family, gone. The Resistance, too." He took a step towards her. "But I am still here. I want to see our family legacy realized. Together, we can do it."

She shook her head again and backed away. "You don't know what you're asking."

"I'm offering you opportunity."

"Through greed and corruption and a false sense of superiority."

No, that wasn't all he was offering. He corrected, "I'm offering your life."

"Would you be my executioner?"

"Would you want me to be?" he returned.

She stared at him with sad eyes. He wondered if he could look into the eyes of his mother—the one person who'd understood him since birth and before—and punch his saber through her chest. Some part of him said he could, but there was another that recognized it would be infinitely worse than Han Solo.

"Sign their papers. Agree to their terms," he advised. "I'd be willing to let Luke Skywalker stay on his forsaken planet until he rots if you do."

"And the others? What about Hux?"

"He's not here. Only us."

"This is a perilous game, Ben."

He nodded. It was, but it was a game he'd been preparing for. "There is always risk when striving for greatness, Mother."

-

There was hesitation in allowing him access to the interrogation room where Hux was conducting his latest interview. The officers reported the comms had been turned off five minutes prior. They went on to say the officer being questioned, Allegiant General Pryde, had been most forthcoming with his contempt.

With enough nerve stimulation and serum, anyone would confess their deepest and darkest.

He hummed to himself and asked if Hux was finished. The officer said the interview had been thorough and seemed to have concluded. They hedged Hux was probably discussing punishment options with Pryde.

"Then my presence for these talks is imperative," he stated.

"Yes, sir," the officer replied, cowed, and unlocked the portal to the interrogation room.

He strode in and closed the door behind him, locking it again from the inside. The room was dim save for an unforgiving spotlight on the angled interrogation chair. The chair itself was turned away from the portal, and he could just make out Pryde's shoulders above the edge of the chair. Along with the top of Hux's brilliant ginger hair at Pryde's neck.

He heard a gurgle and a muffled moan. He didn't know which sound came from which person.

He eased around the chair to see Hux straddling Pryde, a severely handsome man with steely hair, tan skin, and sharp cheekbones. Pryde's uniform jacket was pulled open to reveal his black undershirt. His face was a mask of clear shock: mouth open, eyes wide, cheeks drained of color.

Pryde looked over Hux's shoulder and met his eyes. There was an animal sort of pleading in those wide blue eyes. As if Kylo himself would be disgusted by the proceedings. As if he didn't know how Hux had been disposing of his adversaries.

Hux rolled his hips against Pryde as his throat worked. The comma-shaped blade Hux favored was still on his pointer finger as the deadliest of frills. It was gilded in blood.

He went to the side of the chair and put a hand on Hux's back. He could feel Hux swallow draft after draft of Pryde's blood. He could smell the iron, animal tang of it in the air.

Hux pulled away from Pryde's neck with a hedonistic gasp, pressing his naked hand on the cut. His lips and teeth were coated in thick coppery red. The whites of his eyes were red, too, and the pupils were the color of a terrible bruise.

Hux let his head fall back with a sigh as his victim sluggishly bled around his fingers. He groaned and stretched his neck before tilting his head to meet his gaze.

"Ren, I'd like you to meet Allegiant General Pryde," Hux murmured and licked his scarlet lips.

Pryde tried to form words, but couldn't seem to make his mouth work. He let out a breathy sort of  _ gah. _

He hummed at the introduction and took hold of Hux's jaw. Hux relaxed into it, hazy with bloodlust. He leaned forward and let his gaze rove over Hux's striking face. Hux moved closer as his lips parted in brazen desire.

He could smell the blood on Hux's breath. It was life and death, right there on Hux's beautiful lips. He inched nearer, teasing Hux and himself. Hux's eyelids lowered, and he could feel the invisible caress of his gaze.

Hux gave in first and pushed his lips against Ren's. The wrought kiss was ravenous and metallic, liquid and heat. Pryde's blood smeared between them.

This was his future.

He snaked his hand between Hux and Pryde, hooking a finger under Hux's belt buckle. Hux's waist was still lean, but firmer than it had ever been. He felt red now in the Force—like yearning and feverish fury and liberation.

He undid Hux's belt and loosened his jodhpurs. Hux leaned into him, sucked on his bottom lip. His gut tightened and his half-hard cock jerked in his trousers as he remembered Hux sucking him off after the first successful interrogation. Hux had backed him against the bulkhead and made him come down his throat. The miasma of lust and blood and death had had him dizzy.

But now it was his turn. He pushed his hand under Hux's briefs and wrapped his gloved hand around his erection. Hux purred and rolled his hips into the touch, all arrogant decadence.

"Keep going," he said and gave Hux's dick a teasing stroke.

Hux met his eyes for a moment, and he saw that mutual thirst and destructive thrill. It resonated between them like a growl in the dark. Hux smirked before latching onto Pryde's neck once more.

Pryde wheezed a protest and stiffened. He wondered if Pryde knew that would only raise his blood pressure and make him bleed faster. However, he wasn't going to be the one to enlighten the treacherous commander.

Instead, he inserted himself behind Hux, pushed his hips tight to that pert ass, and tucked his face into Hux's neck. He rocked forward, making Hux fuck the tunnel of his gloved hand. He could feel how much slick precome Hux was leaking. He felt the muffled moan against his chest. He was going to hear more of it soon enough.

He was going to bend Hux over the closest horizontal surface in his quarters and pound him into it; leave bruises which would heal too quickly; spread the cheeks of Hux's ass to get as deep as he could. He wanted Hux to feel him at the back of his throat; leave him dazed and wrecked. He could see it: that copper-red hair mussed from his fist, those usually pale cheeks ruddy, come oozing around his cock as he tried to fuck it back in Hux's tight ass.

His fantasy was cut short by Hux writhing with a cut-off cry and spilling in his glove. He kissed behind Hux's ear and breathed in the scent of blood and faded cologne.

"Do it," Hux groaned in the now-quiet interrogation room. "I want it."

He realized he must've opened himself to Hux in his fervor. With a grin, he rubbed the come on his glove across Hux's stomach. He glanced at Pryde's face to see it slack in death.

-

"I don't know what you said to Leia Organa," Hux began as he perused his datapad. "But she's agreed to terms—with a few caveats."

"Caveats?" he asked from his place on the sofa in Hux's quarters.

"She wants that  _ Jakkuvian _ to be taken out of carbonite, us to grant a stay of further service for traitor FN-2187, a full list of Resistance prisoners of war,  _ and _ weekly meetings with you."

He didn't reply. He didn't know what he could say. His mother had a plan, that much he knew. She'd had too much time to think while in the detention center. His gut told him to deny her the list of POWs. Rey could stay in her dormant state indefinitely, too.

"I should think the weekly meetings are right out," Hux commented when he remained silent.

"No, I'll see her."

"As the leader of the First Order, I advise against it."

"And as my partner?"

He heard Hux rearrange himself in his desk chair and then clear his throat. "Is that what we are?"

"Would you prefer 'lover' instead?"

It seemed it was now Hux's turn to be rendered speechless.

He rolled over on the sofa to actually see Hux, who was staring at his desk. His face was blank, but not in shock. As if Hux could feel his scrutiny, he met his eyes.

"I've never had one of those."

"Neither have I."

He'd never had anyone he wanted to keep at his side like Hux; someone hungry like him—dangerous like him. He thought of the blades Hux kept, how all of them were sharp. They could cut so easily, so quickly, he hardly felt it. All that was left was a sting and the gaping feeling of bleeding.

He got to his feet and stripped off his gloves, tossing them onto the sofa. "We can be powerful. Together."

"Aren't we already?"

"Almost."

He eased around the desk as Hux swiveled to keep him in his sights, datapad forgotten.

Hux asked, "What would take us all the way?"

"I think you know."

He pulled Hux farther away from the desk with the Force. Hux stared up at him, his blue irises being eclipsed by pupil. He pried open Hux's knees and dropped to the floor between them.

"Lay out a plan for me, Ren," he whispered. "Tell me what you see."

"I see a plan long in the making." He slid his palms up Hux's thighs. "Of you and me, ruling through strength." He tugged Hux down the seat and pressed his chest to Hux's belly. "You in gold." He put a little Force behind his words. "With lips like blood. And me..."

"You?"

"And me at your side— _ perpetually." _

"Us, in perpetuity?"

"Yes," he murmured.

Hux laced fingers in his hair and yanked his head back. He arched with a gasp, wetting his bottom lip. The threat of Hux slicing him from ear to ear was very real, but Hux didn't feel murderous in the Force. He felt greedy and jealous, full of longing and bloodlust.

"We first need to clear our path," Hux stated.

"Yes."

"Find me someone who can take the fall for the Upsilon tracker."

"I can do that."

"Before that, you need to get to work."

The fist in his hair pulled him down until his face was level with Hux's groin. He rubbed his lips and nose against the hot bulge of Hux's cock. The heady musk of him filled his senses. He mouthed at Hux's uniform trousers as he pushed up the jacket hem.

"That's it," Hux softly encouraged. "Use that gorgeous mouth."

He undid the trousers, spreading the fly wide, and fished out the hardening length of Hux's cock. It was flushed and perfect; pink like sweets. He gathered saliva on his tongue and wet his cock. At first contact, Hux shivered and placed a hand on his forearm, his cock plumping right before his eyes.

The clean male scent of Hux—a combination of soap and salt—made him groan against the shaft. Hux made an encouraging sound in return. He steadied Hux's dick with one hand while the other held the jacket out of the way.

He licked up the precome, spreading the tang across his tongue, before taking the head into his mouth. He sucked it like hard candy. The heat of it, the heft, the way Hux was letting him do whatever he wanted burned through him like hot plasma.

Hux let his head tip backwards against the chair with a sigh. He took that hard cock further, twisting his head as he did. With each stroke and suck of his mouth, he made his lips meet his fist at the base. Little by little, he began massaging Hux's cock, using his hand to work that increasingly sopping shaft.

Hux moved his hips, panting how good his hot mouth felt. Hux's thighs tensed on either side of him; his hands gripped hard at his forearm and now the nape of his neck. He looked up the lean line of Hux's straining torso to meet hungry, smoldering red eyes. High-color had suffused Hux's cheeks, along with his lips from where he'd been biting them.

Hux was a perfect image of lust. It made his own dick pulse against the constraints of his trousers.

"Fuck, Kylo," Hux breathed. "Take it deeper."

So, he did. He closed his eyes and swallowed, feeling the top of his throat flutter around Hux's cock. His body strained for air, but he ignored it. It was worth hearing Hux snarl a wicked curse and then feel him thrust up.

He mentally smiled and bobbed his head, giving Hux what he so badly needed. The wet  _ gluck _ from his throat punctuated every ascend. He paid no attention to the aching of his jaw. He only concentrated on one thing: Hux's pleasure. He wanted Hux to lose control, come undone, paint his mouth with creamy ecstasy.

Hux choked out a warning and yanked at his hair. He pulled back and panted, letting the fat head of Hux's cock rest on his tongue. He stroked Hux's slick cock with a wet fist as he stared back.

Hux's chest heaved; his wiry body taut and clenched. That eye-catching ginger hair glinted in the light coming from the viewport behind the desk. He could see the way Hux's eyes shone with hunger for him, for his blood, for his power. That hunger he felt through the Force made his gut thrum with need. He was keenly aware of the precome soaking his own briefs.

A gasp cut off midway, and he felt it. Hux's cock pulsed in his hand as it striped his tongue with bitter come. It was sharp, salty, and musky. In the Force, Hux was burned like a supernova. That energy poured into him like dazzling firelight. It was a climax that went beyond physical limitations. It was communion.

After the last surges of Hux's orgasm died down, he let go. He sat back and visibly swallowed, wiping at his drenched chin. His dick was hard in his pants. He smirked when he noticed how Hux's hands shook. Then he saw how his own mirrored Hux's.

It was quiet for a moment before Hux said, "Now you."

_ Stars, yes. _

He got out his dick as Hux tucked his away. He was so close already. Each touch ratcheted the need deep inside him. He swallowed a whimper as he enveloped his erection with a spit-soaked hand. He could feel his pulse everywhere: his temples, his throat, his balls, the back of his knees.

He was stretched to his limits, filled with an inferno that could only be indulged. He tugged at his throbbing cock and bit his lip. He was so close—so close.

"Look at me," Hux whispered.

He obeyed and met Hux's eyes. The acrid-sour taste of Hux dominated. He savored it on his lips, at the back of his throat. Hux's smooth skin shone in the starlight. He was controlled yet wild, precise and savage. Hux cut like razor blades and caressed like the finest fur.

The very thought of Hux's blood inside him had him right at the edge. So much potential. Too much. To feed, to get it inside himself, to feel that infection infuse every cell. It made him thrust into his fist.

_ "Give it to me," _ he softly demanded, the Force in his words.

Hux replied, "Yes."

And he came. In spurts and gouts. All over the dark floor under his knees. His heart pumped in a terrifying rhythm, but he couldn't die yet. He wouldn't die—ever.

He sobbed as he lost his strength and bent over, resting his forehead on Hux's thigh. As he caught his breath, he felt gentle fingers comb through his hair. He knew then there was bloody deliverance for him.

-

"I found our mark," he stated after the door to Hux's chambers closed.

Hux relaxed in his chair at the head of the long conference table. "Oh? Do tell."

"Lieutenant in Security Communications, Sheltav Towani. Resistance..." He struggled to find a proper term. "— _ sympathizer. _ Might've been a mole earlier in his career."

Towani, while serving the First Order, had his doubts. He didn't approve of Hux nor the way the organization was headed. Ren didn't know what Towani wanted instead, but he knew Towani would become more of a dissenter as time went on.

And no one could afford another resistance movement.

Hux tacked on, "Or looked the other way when sensitive information wasn't as secure as it should be."

He nodded with a grunt of agreement.

"Good work, Ren. Do you want to bring Towani in, or should I send Opan?"

"Send Opan." That ever-devoted toady.

"Very well," Hux replied and opened comms on his datapad to issue orders. At the end, he granted authorization for the  _ Finalizer _ to restock. He added that Order operatives should now concentrate on blocking the hyperspace routes to the Inner Rim.

It was time to starve the decadent Core Worlds. And then  _ rescue _ them from the gangsters of the galaxy.

"Are we still on lock-down, sir?" Opan asked. He felt Opan's eagerness to publicly haul Towani to the brig.

"Yes,  _ Commodore. _ Consult with Captain Phasma on trooper security."

Opan swelled with pride and saluted. Hux returned the salute before ending the comm.

They shared a look across the conference table. He read the satisfaction in Hux's striking features, could feel the feline contentment. Everything was slipping perfectly into place.

"You'll be promoting Phasma," he commented.

"Naturally. I think  _ Brigadier _ would be a nice fit."

"If she accepts."

Hux grinned. "Of course."

He was still for a moment, caught in indecision. He wanted to push Hux to change him—use the Force to bend everything and everyone to his will. However, he felt that would be the wrong tactic here. Hux had to come to this inevitability on his own.

"Ren— _ Kylo," _ Hux said and scooted away from the table. "Come here."

He wet his lips as he approached, wondering if Hux needed another blowjob. It wouldn't be a hardship for him to give one. Hux always tasted satisfying. However, Hux didn't feel lustful. He felt  _ affectionate. _

It made him feel warm all over and self-conscious in an unexpected way. He was suddenly aware of his gait, the way his hair fell over his stupid ears, the new heat in his cheeks. He probably looked ridiculous. He longed for his helmet.

Hux entered a command in his datapad, and the room’s door locked.

He stopped at the corner of the table and stood tall, refusing to show hesitation or weakness.

"I have a question," Hux said as he slid the datapad away.

"Then ask."

"What if my affliction doesn't take?"

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Then we'll go to the source."

"I killed the source."

Hux was making excuses, he thought. "The whole planet?"

"No, of course not." That would be inefficient, Ren silently supplied. "The creature that infected me was destroyed."

"Surely, that's not the only one."

Hux swiveled his chair farther to the side and glanced out the unshielded viewport. One hand was curled into an agitated fist. There was the jittery feeling of anxiety coming from him.

He murmured, "But you don't want to go back."

"It's a dangerous planet," Hux all but confirmed and stood. He put his hands behind his back and went to the viewport.

"Then give me your blood."

"And if it doesn't last?"

He rested a hip on the corner of the table. "Then give it to me again."

"Is that a thing you want?" Hux turned his head. "To be beholden to me?"

"Do you want me to die?"

Hux fully turned to him. "Of course not."

That, too, would be inefficient.

"Then give it to me again—" He met Hux's eyes. "—and again."

"And then what?" Hux purred as he crept closer.

"We rule together."

"How would that work?" Hux put a hand on his thigh and got between his legs. "Tell me your plan."

He maneuvered fully onto the table and rested his hands on Hux's waist. "You could rule the galaxy."

"And you?"

"Your enforcer."

He let Hux see him presenting cowed system after cowed system to him. Eyes red with hunger and the dark side. Of shuttered days spent between cool sheets. Bloody knives and sweat and leather gloves.

Hux yanked him forward by the hips. He steadied himself and spread his legs wider. Hux ground against him, hard and fervent. The tense friction almost drove him to distraction. His cock started to strain the front of his trousers.

"You want the First Order," Hux said, breathless.

"Would it be the First Order when you're emperor?" He leaned in to whisper.  _ "Eternal Emperor Armitage Hux." _

Hux shivered against him as Hux's hands clutched at his hips. He held Hux's face and teased his pliant bottom lip with a bare thumb. Hux caught his finger between his lips and sucked it in. He eased his thumb in and out of Hux's mouth, stroking his velvet-soft tongue.

After a moment, Hux opened his mouth, eyes filming over with red, and licked his thumb as he withdrew it. His pink lips glossy with saliva. It was too tempting to resist.

So, he didn't. He caught Hux's mouth in a kiss that was starved and greedy and full of promise. Hux's hands went to his ass to pull them tighter together. He moaned as his cock throbbed.

"I'll crush any rebellion," he gasped. "For you."

Hux groaned  _ "fuck" _ and buried his face under his chin. He rutted harder, faster. Hux clung to him, but he didn't want Hux to hide. He tugged Hux's head back with a fist in his hair and kissed him again.

Eternity stretched out in front of them. It draped them in blood and iron and glory. He could sense it in the Force. It was his destiny.

"Come to me tonight," Hux murmured against lips.

He grinned. "Yes,  _ Emperor." _

The future started now.

-

"I'm going to miss your blood," Hux softly said while running fingertips down his naked chest.

He shivered at the light touch. "You can have it now." He put his hand over Hux's. "If you want."

Hux raised himself the scant inch or two to close the distance between their lips. It started easy, almost undemanding, more of a caress than anything else. Hux's lips were soft in texture and pliability. It was easy for him to take control, holding the back of Hux's neck. Hux relaxed with a groan and steadied himself with hands on his waist.

Then Hux bit at his bottom lip and sucked on it.

It made him think of that clever mouth on his cock and that tongue in his ass. There had been blood and blades and exquisite pain. Hands gripping his hips, his hair, his throat.

He unzipped Hux's jacket one-handed and pushed his hand into the warm interior. Lean muscles flexed under his hand, ribs expanded as Hux sucked in a breath. He brushed a thumb over a tightening nipple.

Hux pulled away with a gasp to ask in half-wonder: "What've you done to me?"

He tucked his face under Hux's jaw and mouthed at the thrumming pulse. Hux's arms went around him. There were lips on his shoulder, kissing a slow line over his skin.

"Take off the rest," Hux whispered. "Get on the bed."

It was a simple order to follow, so he backed off to strip the rest of the way. Hux's red eyes followed his hands as he unzipped his trousers and pushed them down. He was half-hard already, and removing his briefs was a relief.

"You, too," he said as he kicked away the last of his clothes.

Hux shrugged off his jacket and walked it to the bedroom closet. Instead of taking off the rest, he said he'd return and disappeared into the refresher. He came back a moment later with a pot of bacta in his clean hands, along with a small stack of gauze pads.

"Bed," Hux ordered, a glint of amusement in his tone.

With Hux close behind, he crawled to the middle to lie down on his back. Hux stood at the foot of the bed, his eyes sweeping along Ren's body. He knew they could stay like this all evening: watching each other. But that was for another night—one of many to come.

He smoothed his hands down his chest, over his taut stomach. He dragged fingernails down the narrow trail of hair starting below his bellybutton. He turned his knees out and framed his hardening cock and tight balls with flat hands. The touch to the seam where torso met leg had him minutely thrusting into the air.

"Shall I cut you there?" Hux nodded towards his groin. "You know how much I enjoy those thighs of yours."

He smoothed his palms over his inner thighs, arching his back. "Cut me wherever you want."

Hux planted a knee on the bed. "There are big veins right there. Could do serious damage."

"But you won't damage me."

"Not much." Hux smirked.

He grinned and reached for Hux. He could take any pain. And in this case, it would be a welcome one.

Hux knee-walked between his legs and set the supplies to the side. He crawled farther up to hover. In reply, he pulled Hux's undershirt free and slid his hands over Hux's lower back. With gentle urging, Hux settled on top of him.

That wiry, hard body should've been uncomfortable, but Hux fit against him perfectly. He got two handfuls of Hux's ass and ground their bodies together. Hux let out a puff of breath as he began to move with him. He leaned up to catch Hux's lips, but Hux gracefully dodged him to kiss his throat.

Hux peppered open-mouthed kisses up his neck and sucked on his earlobe. He gasped as the feeling went straight to his dick. The fine material of Hux's uniform trousers rubbed right against the underside of it. There was a precarious second where he thought he was going to come.

But then Hux let go to slither down his body, leaving a path of shivery heat in his wake. Hux dipped low and took the head of his cock in his mouth. It was such a shock, he shouted and thrust his hips and fisted the shoulders of Hux's shirt.

Hux grasped his hips and forced them to the bed, sucking hard and moaning. His balls drew up and every muscle tightened. He warned, cursed, and writhed; going from clutching at Hux to the blanket.

At the last second, Hux sat up. He wiped at his rosy mouth with the back of his hand, breathless.

He couldn't look, couldn't take it, couldn't catch his breath. Hux's mouth was  _ obscene. _ He squeezed his eyes shut as his cock throbbed against his belly.

The mattress tremored as Hux moved around. He opened his eyes to see a bare-chested Hux crawl his way to the nightstand. Hux was going for a razor, and his gut swooped. He bit back a groan, feeling his cock pulse out precome.

"I honed this one just yesterday," Hux commented as he held up the black razor with tusk handle. "I like to think of it as yours."

"Mine?"

"It's only been used on you."

"How romantic."

Hux leaned over him with a wry grin. "Is that what you want, Ren?  _ Romance?" _

"Not exactly," he hummed and pulled Hux down for a kiss.

Hux draped across his chest and kissed him and kissed him. He was devoured and ravaged with tongue and teeth. Lips like soft dawn smeared across his. He was a wolf consuming the steaming innards of his kill. Hux, his predacious prey.

The closed razor thumped against his collarbone a second before Hux touched his cheek.

He broke the kiss. "Please."

Hux nodded in agreement and plucked the lube from the nightstand. There was a minute of fumbling with supplies, and he took the pause to shove a pillow under his hips. As if Hux couldn't help himself, he placed cool palms on his thighs to spread them wide. He twisted and arched at the feeling of exposure. Hux could see everything, touch anything, cut wherever, and taste it all.

"There are tributaries off the femoral artery," Hux stated. "It's prudent to drink from those." Hux traced a line down his inner thigh. "Just a little nick on the side."

His gut swooped again as his dick throbbed. Hux huffed a little laugh and angled in to kiss his thigh and nose at his balls. He stared down at Hux's serene face. Those golden lashes caught the light. He wanted to feel how delicate they were.

The snick of the razor unfolding brought him back to reality. His heart lurched into a faster rhythm. He took a deep breath as he fisted the pillow under his head. He wanted to demand that Hux cut him, drink him down. He wanted the pain and the feeling of giving.

Hux cut quick. It almost felt cold. The pain lagged a second, but in that second Hux latched on. He sucked, and the pain opened like an iron bloom. Hux's mouth seared the wound. His teeth dug into the tender skin. His tongue flexed as his jaw worked.

He could feel each hot swallow like Hux was drinking his whole body down. There was a circuit of supernal sensation flowing through him to Hux and back again. Each pull of blood tugged at something deep in his gut as if a strong gale were drawing him down. There was thunder rumbling down his body, and he realized it was the echo of his heart.

It was terminal perfection.

Even though the storm had him, Hux pulled off with a gasp and a slap of strong fingers over the wound. His lips were bloody like rose petals, his eyes red with undying desire. Hux stared at him with pumping chest and flushed cheeks. His trousers were tented by his erection.

He couldn't take his eyes off it for more than a few seconds. His own erection bobbed as he imagined Hux's dick deep inside him. He swallowed and wet his lips before whispering:

"Fuck me."

Hux snarled and bent over to take his cock in his bloodstained mouth. The wet heat after so long with nothing was too much. He cried out and reached for any part of Hux he could touch. His hands landed in silky ginger hair, the contact grounding him, as Hux sucked at the head. Hux's tongue swirled around the glans before popping off.

_ "Please," _ he begged, though he didn't know what he was asking for anymore.

Hux plastered cold bacta on the cut and covered it with a gauze pad. The sting of sweat combined with the rough pressure of Hux's palm added to a pain he was familiar with. He never knew it could morph into something so good.

"Hold your other leg," Hux said as he opened the lube with his free hand.

He pulled his unwounded thigh up and out, briefly fondling his balls. Hux hummed as he watched before spreading lube over his hole. Hux pushed his wounded thigh to the bed and eased two slick fingers inside.

Even that minor penetration was enough to make him roll his hips. He wanted more, wanted Hux inside him. His balls drew up when Hux's knuckles glanced off his prostate. Everything was so sensitive and responsive to Hux, it was as if he'd been conditioned through blood, pain, and bliss.

Then Hux curled his fingers upwards to deliberately rub his prostate. The pleasure was electric, riding up his body in pressured, escalating waves. Hux pressed on his perineum and made it all the more intense. It was almost too much.

He wrapped a shaking hand around the base of his cock to thwart orgasm and threw his head back to moan. He wasn't sure it actually helped. Every sensation just added to the internal furor of wanting sex and blood and Hux.

"Enough," he growled. "Get inside me."

"You're not ready."

"I'm ready enough."

Hux's face screwed up as though he were about to argue.

He cut the thought off by ordering, "Lube up and  _ take me." _

Hux got pinker as his hips flexed forward. He could feel that Hux wanted it as badly as he did.  _ Yes _ , he mentally agreed.  _ Yes, want it. Yes, get that perfect dick out. Yes, fuck me with it until I feel nothing but you. _

_ "Yes," _ hissed Hux as he withdrew his fingers.

Hux wiped them on his chest and undid his trousers. He shimmied the rest of his clothes down to finally knock them off the edge of the bed. The indents on his skin from the waistband were tender pink lines he wished he could trace with his tongue. He'd do it later, he promised himself, next time—maybe even tomorrow.

He watched Hux slick his cock, thrusting into the tunnel of his fist a few times. It was hypnotic and made his lust flare hot. His erection throbbed in his hand at the sight.

Hux shuffled forward and then eased down. The first touch of Hux's dick against his hole, so much different than fingers, had him pushing down—trying to get it inside him. Hux asked if he were sure, and he was. He bore down as Hux inched forward.

That slick girth stretched him, propelling the breath out of his body in one unrelenting slow thrust. He could feel his pulse in his ass, how wet he was, how hard Hux's dick was. There was heat in the Force, red like desire. Hux's copper-red pubic hair tickled the underside of his balls.

He couldn't stop the roll of his hips. He had to feel it all. And he did. The zing of pleasure shot from his prostate to his chest like lightning.

"Let go," Hux softly said.

It took a moment to understand. He loosened his hold on his cock, giving it one last stroke, before bracing himself against the built-in headboard. Hux smoothed the leftover lube on his dick and massaged his frenulum with his thumb. He choked on air as his muscles quivered. He was already so close to orgasm.

He whispered, "Please."

Hux hooked an arm under the leg he'd held out and dropped his weight to push his cock in farther. Hux leaned on the vulnerable, healing cut on his inner thigh. The shadow of pain threatened at the edge of pleasure.

Hux didn't ask if he were ready. Hux began an unhurried rhythm, almost pulling out to going as deep as he could. He could feel every inch, the flared crown of Hux's cockhead, the heat of it, the way Hux rolled his hips at the end of every thrust.

He cursed and asked for more. And Hux gave it to him. Hux fucked him faster. His oiled cock rammed harder, fucking noises out of him he didn't know he could make.

His dick rubbed between their bellies with every thrust. The half-healed cut on his inner thigh sang with delicate pain. His ass felt glutted as Hux's cock pistoned deep, over and over. He reached between their bodies to fist his aching erection.

Hux groaned, "Fuck yes, come on my cock."

"Feels so  _ guh _ —" Each thrust shoved his cock through the tight tunnel of his hand.  _ "Holy shit!" _

"Your arse— Stars, look at you."

Hux mouthed at the side of his knee as he viciously snapped his hips. He could feel Hux wanting to see him come, make a mess of himself. Hux wanted to suck on  _ that big dick _ and swallow every salty drop. He'd lick up any spend he missed and bite bruises on  _ those tits. _

He moaned in shock as climax raced down his spine to center at the base of his cock. Hux answered with a moan of his own. His voice broke as his body locked up. He couldn't control how he convulsed, too overwhelmed by throbbing ecstasy.

The first pulse of come jetted up his torso as Hux thrust in. The blunt tip of Hux's dick nudged his prostate, and another wave of sharp bliss hit him. It was like nothing he'd had before.

His mouth dropped open as Hux fucked the come out of him until he was striped in milky rivulets. Hux hunched over him, thrusting inside him with bone-jarring force, taking what he needed with a gnash of teeth. He trembled in hypersensitivity—each thrust felt as though it reached his solar plexus.

When Hux came, it was a torrent of blinding energy. It went beyond the feeling of new wetness in his ass. It was metalized satisfaction and a hunger sated.

After a still moment, Hux dropped on top of him and panted. He held Hux, closing his eyes as he smoothed hands down Hux's damp back. Hux purred at the caress and kissed the notch at the base of his throat.

Hux mumbled, "Can you call the razor to you?"

He blinked at the ceiling. "Wha?"

"Razor."

"Now?"

Hux pulled the arm hooked under his leg free and rose onto an elbow. "Yes, now."

He didn't need much concentration to Force-call the razor to him. Even though his heart started a galloping pace. The razor tottered along the rumpled blanket until the handle was in his hand. He brought it up between them and studied it. There was a smudge of blood on the flat of the blade. He looked at Hux as he licked it off.

Hux appeared pleased as he adjusted his position up. The movement was enough to jostle his flagging erection, and it jerked out with a gush of hot come. He winced at the feeling, but still hitched a leg over Hux's shapely ass. He wouldn't be deterred by anything now.

"Where?" he asked.

Hux presented his elegant pale neck. "Here."

He followed the cords of muscle and veins from Hux's jaw to his collarbone. It could be a dangerous cut if he went too deep. Though he knew Hux wouldn't die, he'd still bleed like mad.

The external jugular was visible through Hux's porcelain skin. It would only need a little cut to get the blood flowing. He put a hand at the nape of Hux's neck and drew him down for a kiss. Hux's lips were puffy and febrile as they glided over his. He flicked his tongue out to taste Hux, knowing he'd be getting more than just a taste in a moment. Hux sucked at the tip of his tongue and pulled a moan from deep in his chest.

He broke the kiss, tightened his hold on Hux's neck, and made him arch. Hux inhaled and closed his eyes, the very picture of delicious surrender. He brought the sharp corner of the razor to the vein and lanced it.

The first hit of Hux's blood splashed his bottom lip. He latched onto his neck and let it pour into him like scalding rain. He dissolved into pleasure. He was torn apart as if he'd fallen into a black hole. He was destroyed and built anew in the Force.

He felt everything in that moment: Hux's blood, his breath, the very air that was invited in. Their heartbeats synchronized for a second before skipping out of time. The space between atoms filled with meaning. Hux's infection permeated every cell, all that space, so quickly he couldn't track where it hit first. It was initially a taste and then reality.

His head spun. And still, he drank.

He sucked at the cut, worrying it with his tongue. Blood coated his mouth. Above him, Hux gasped and writhed, but not to get away.

Together they sank into the dark. No stars spoiled the velvet void. It was just them, invisible and infinite.

Together they changed. He reached for Hux as Hux reached for him. First contact left them reeling. Questions flowed like water. Answers returned like an incoming tide. Knowledge like violence razed ego. It was death of a different kind, and resurrection an imperceptible truth.

Together was all that mattered. Together they rose and would rise further. Together they would rule.

-

**Four Months Later**

The Knights he had posted to guard his mother's suite opened the portal for him. She kept her back to him as the double doors glided shut. The sunset warmed the twists of her steel-gray hair. The deep scoop at the back of her oil-slick black gown was underlaid with beaded netting which covered her neck. The beaded netting continued under the stiff embroidered sleeves to encase her arms. The skirt of her gown spilled from the wide, double-layered belt at her waist. She looked every inch the regal matriarch he remembered.

He kept to the shadows despite the tinted transparisteel windows of the old imperial palace blocking much of the damaging rays from Coruscant Prime. He couldn't risk overexposure so near to Hux's evening coronation.

Her eyes snapped to him as he came up on her right. He met her gaze for a moment before looking out over Galactic City. He felt her scrutiny, but ignored it.

Thousands were gathering below. There were a few protest signs, which didn't surprise him. The crowd's energy was encouraging, though. He could pick out favorable curiosity amongst a grateful herd—most of whom supported the First Order subduing the  _ gangsters _ who had taken over after the New Republic fell. There were even a few bright sparks of old-imperial pride.

Hux had requested he and his Knights be prepared for an assassination attempt. He replied that assassination would most likely come from inside the palace. They'd gone around about loyalty and using the Force and leaving too many Resistance agents alive. Hux mentioned reconditioning Organa, and he returned in favor of terminating Rey once and for all. The  _ discussion _ ended with them retreating to different sectors of the vast palace.

He didn't remember how much training equipment he'd gone through. He only knew it hadn't satisfied. He'd left the palace, rented a room and twi'lek prostitute to drink from. When he'd fucked her, her hot blood in his mouth, he wished Hux had been on the other side of her.

After a few days, Hux had offered a compromise: Leia Organa would be his Secretary-General for the new United Galactic Systems while Rey stayed in hibernation until the fledgling administration was secured.

He wanted to march into the dungeon right then and stab his lightsaber through Rey's carbonite sarcophagus. Then he'd settle accounts with his two-faced uncle and repay his betrayal. That would finish it. That would be the end of the Jedi—and the end of the argument.

Hux had known, of course. Just like he'd known Hux had missed him in their bed.

Hux sat him down and distracted him with details of the UGS. He knew he was being distracted, but listened all the same. With Organa busy and heavily monitored, Hux had said, she was contained. It also gave a boost of legitimacy to the new governing body.

He had agreed with the decision. His mother was a leader at heart. The position would appease her as long as she believed the galaxy at large was benefitting.

When he proposed the idea to her at the following weekly meeting, she had consented. However, she asked if it was his doing. He told her the truth: it had been Hux's suggestion.

He concluded, "He requires your wisdom."

"And my credentials."

"Yes, but—" He sighed as he regrouped. "You can help people." He stared into her eyes as his voice became harder with every word. "It's what you've been doing most of your life."

She'd been more concerned with the galaxy than her own family. He didn't see any reason for her to stop now. If she wanted to help the galaxy so badly, he'd offer the opportunity to her on a karking silver platter.

She slid her hand across the table to him. "Ben..."

His anger and frustration had flared at her exhausted tone. As if she hadn't striven for her life's path. As if she didn't take pride in being Alderaan's last princess. His vision clouded red for a second before he realized what he'd allowed to happen. Leia had jolted back with a gasp.

He'd ducked his head to take a deep, centering breath.

In the hush, she whispered, "What's happened to you?"

He'd shaken his head in dismissal, knowing he couldn't explain it. "You are part of this waltz, Mother." He took a sip of the tea the servant droid had poured for each of them. "I suggest you continue dancing."

They now stood side by side as the sun set on the New Republic. He could feel Hux approach with his aides-de-camp trailing a step behind. He turned to the main portal and offered his elbow.

"Shall we?" he asked.

His mother took his arm. Her dainty hand curled around his bicep. Before they reached the portal, it opened. Hux stood on the other side, looking imposing and elegant.

Hux wore a knee-length black jacket that was piped in silver cord with open lapels revealing a gold lining. The multiple rank bands on the jacket sleeves matched the cord and lining. His new red-lined cape attached at the shoulder with First Order emblems. Underneath the jacket was a high-necked black mesh shirt—which was surprising, considering how much he'd bitten and sucked at that expanse of milky flesh last night.

He supposed bacta and makeup went a long way.

As they approached, Hux said, "You left behind your helmet, Lord Ren," and held up the remade helmet.

They shared a look before he slipped on the helmet. The look was understanding and appreciation. It was, perhaps deep down, a reassurance. It was also familiar and spoke to the mantra they'd been passing back and forth for months:

_ Moves and countermoves. _

Every move thus far had been leading to this night. Hux would don the mantle of emperor, and he would fulfill his family's destiny.

Hux gave Organa a respectful bow. "Your Excellency."

"Your Majesty," his mother returned with a nod, her tone neutral yet curt.

He pulled the hood of his cloak over his helmet and offered his arm once again to his mother. Hux gave him a subtle, pleased glance before stepping back. His Knights fell into formation behind him, supported by red-armored guards.

They followed Hux through the soaring concourses of the unornamented palace. Through the large windows, the mellow orange of the sky steadily melted into Tyrian purple. He could feel the anticipation of the crowd, Hux's tenseness, and his mother's sense of deja vu.

Phasma and a few of her troopers met them at the eastern doors. The aides-de-camp reordered everyone and then smoothed uniforms and capes before stepping back.

When the doors opened, the crowd surged like an ocean. Their voices blended together to generate an inarticulate, animal cacophony. Only the barrier of troopers far below kept them from flooding the wide permacrete walkway.

Hux stood at the threshold for a second before stepping out of the palace. He followed Hux down the deep treads of the first set of stairs as Organa walked a couple steps behind him.

Once Hux stopped at the top of the last set, Ren stepped to the side. Organa followed suit to stand as tall as her petite frame would allow. There was a collective gasp from the crowd at her reveal. He sensed Hux's gratification, though his face on the huge holoprojections remained composed.

Hux held up his hands to silence the crowd. "Thank you, Coruscant, and the rest of the Core Worlds, to the Outer Rim for placing your trust in the First Order. It is an honor. One not taken lightly..."

As Hux spoke, Ren looked up into the sky. One of Coruscant's moons was rising. Red like rusting iron.

**Author's Note:**

> Inspiration for Leia's dress: [Alexander McQueen, Resort 2011](https://i1.wp.com/popbee.com/image/2010/06/alexander-mcqueen-resort-2011-collection-300610-4.jpeg)
> 
> Find me on [my tumblr](https://the-wayward-rose.tumblr.com).


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